A final-second touchdown from Steve Johnson earned the Buffalo Bills an extraordinary 24-23 victory over the Carolina Panthers in today's NFL clash.
The first piece of point-scoring action was not to be delivered until the second quarter of the game, with placekicker Dan Carpenter opening up to kick a 55-yard field goal that put the Bills 3-0 ahead.
However, the Panthers went into the lead in the second quarter as Greg Olsen got hold of a 13-yard pass from Cam Newton, leaving Graham Gano to kick and leave the scores at 7-3 going into half time.
As if to make up for a low-scoring first half, the sides came out and produced an 18-point third quarter after the interval.
Carpenter got things underway with a 20-yard field goal for the Bills, before the Panthers hit back with a touchdown from Ted Ginn following a 40-yard pass from Newton. But the Bills weren't done yet as they recorded a touchdown of their own when Fred Jackson completed a four-yard run.
With the scores level at 14-14 going into the fourth and final quarter, it was the Panthers who seized the early initiative with Gano coming to the party to kick two field goals from in and around the 20-yard mark.
His kicks gave the Panthers a slender 20-14 lead, which was then reduced by three when Carpenter delivered another field goal for the Bills, this time from 48 yards.
It seemed like it would not be enough for the Bills as the Panthers soon took their lead to 23-17 following another field goal from Gano, who kicked from 39 yards out.
But in the final stages of the quarter Johnson produced some fine offensive play to grab a two-yard pass from EJ Manuel, which left Carpenter to kick for a 24-23 victory.
Christopher Dodd
